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methotrexate question

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Posted 2/1/2008 2:56 AM (GMT 0)
I was just wondering- I just started my 4th month of methotrexate.  I am no longer on prednisone-this has been for about a month.  My question is, does the fatigue go away?  I guess I'm not tired as early in the evening as I was when I was really feeling my flare, but at 8:30 it just hits me.  I feel like a zombie most nights after that time.  Also when I do laundry and get to the top of the stairs I sometimes have to stop because it can be really exhausting feeling for 5-10 seconds after the climb.  I never notice this when I'm on a fire call-probably the adreneline rush or something.  I was just at my rhuemy today and he ran a few extra blood tests just to see if something else might be popping up-and he listening to my heart and chest a few different times, while I was sitting, laying, and standing.  His suggestion for now was to increase my folic acid dose to 2-3 mg per day and see if that helps.  Any other suggestions or can anyone just tell me of their experience with metho. and fatigue?  Thanks.
Posted 2/1/2008 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Firebabe,

 

I have no experience with methotrexate, but others here do. All I know is that when I'm photographing a wedding, I have the stamina and physical strength of someone who is perfectly 100% healthy.  It's the adrenaline.  So I would say, for you, DEFINITELY an adrenaline rush will make you feel a lot different!!! 

 

I'm the same with the laundry. I feel like I'm 90 years old when I'm climbing those stairs with the baskets.  Yet, when I'm out shooting, I'm like Wonderwoman.  It's weird....  Like I'm living in two separate bodies....

 

I think the fatigue, for me anyway, is always there.  But when I'm spouting off adrenaline in every direction, that fatigue is gonzo!!!

 

Ginny

Posted 2/1/2008 4:53 AM (GMT 0)
firebabe,

I can relate to your fatigue. The day after I take my methotrexate I am so tired, that I have to go to bed early. It seems to lessen every day after. By the third day after taking the med, I feel like a normal person again. For me this medicine has made me slow down, and take it easy. I am lucky because I am a stay at home mom, so on the day after taking the medicine I have the luxury of being able to stay at home and rest while my kids are in school. Even though I feel tired etc., I am so glad that this medicine has worked so well for me, I hope it does as well for you.

Karen
Posted 2/1/2008 4:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Firebabe, I don't remember the mg . . . but I had to take a lot of folic acid while on mtrx. I think I took 3 tabs/day, but I don't remember the mg. Sorry. Doc said it was to protect the heart. There was another vitamin too, but I just don't remember what it was. I'll see if I can find an old med list. I hope you find some relief from the fatigue. Its the pits! Blessings!
Posted 2/1/2008 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hey firebabe...

I'm on methotrexate (15 mg / week) and have been since about October, but I'm not done weaning down my pred yet. It is going to take a few more months to get off of that.

For a while, I was getting REALLY tired the day I took it and the day after, but that has seemed to subside a little.

I can relate to the laundry thing tho. By the time I get to the top of the stairs...my legs are screaming and I need to rest.

~Kim
Posted 2/2/2008 4:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi firebabe! I just stopped taking methotrexate injections this week. Like others have mentioned, the day of my injection and the day after were very tiring to me. As the week progressed, however, my energy levels were good, almost "normal". I still had significant joint pain and inflammation so my rhuemy prescribed Arava for me. This is my first week on it. I tried to make the methotrexate work for about eighteen months but I needed something stronger (or, maybe, different?).

Good luck. I know of many people who have been very happy with the results of taking the metho. My prayers are with you!
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